Reinforced elastomer panels present an opportunity to improve upon many of the performance characteristics of aircraft and missiles. FIG. 1 shows a side view of a rod reinforced elastomer panel 10 of the prior art. The rod reinforced elastomer 10 has a pair of rod blocks 12. A plurality of rods 14 anchored to one of the pair of rod blocks 12 slide inside an elastomer panel 16. The rod reinforced elastomer 10 is capable of both elongation and deflection, as shown in FIG. 3. The rod reinforced elastomer has a resting length 22 that can be stretched to an elongated length 24 and deflected a distance 26. These products can be used in applications such as control surfaces and in expandable bays to provide cleaner airflow and reduced drag. However, these products so far have been limited to nonmetallic elastomeric compounds that provide little to no protection against electromagnetic interference (EMI). In addition, these products are susceptible to being damaged by solvents such as jet fuel.
Thus there exist a need for an environmental coating that protects the elastomer panel from solvents and EMI.